Make flyers and social graphics in ChatGPT from real photos of your own food, and draft your emails there too
Jasmin Walls, co-owner of The Dear Donut in Lugoff, South Carolina, in the Free Times (Post and Courier)
Per the Free Times, Walls uses ChatGPT "for almost everything — from writing emails to creating social media graphics." She uploads real pictures of her food so flyers look realistic and spends time training the AI so it gives her the best output; one graphic was carefully prompted to look as close to reality as possible.
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The problem
Walls runs The Dear Donut with her husband while raising six children, and says paying a designer is out of reach: "for me, $500 is my utility bill. $500 is one of my employees … for the week."
What happened
She says it saves her an almost unquantifiable amount of time: "Why would I do that when I could pay $30 a month to put it in a software that's gonna do it in five minutes?" She adds, "It is still a lot of work. It's just less work." The same article reports customer backlash against AI food images in Columbia, and the Columbia Foodies Facebook group bans them. No figures beyond hers. Self-reported.
Quoted in the source: Jasmin Walls, co-owner, The Dear Donut. Source: Free Times (Post and Courier): Appetite for AI: Columbia restaurants weigh the use of generated photos and graphics amid backlash (Sydney Dunlap) (2026-07-29) · Added 2026-10-20.
How to set it up yourself
- What The Dear Donut does: per the Free Times, the co-owner writes emails and makes social media graphics in ChatGPT, uploading real photos of her food so the flyers look realistic.
- Take a clear, well-lit photo of the actual item you're promoting (the same thing a customer will get).
- Open ChatGPT, upload the photo and use the prompt below, giving the offer, dates, price and the exact business name and address you want on the flyer.
- Check every word on the image (business name, prices, dates, spelling) before posting; image tools often garble text. Keep the food looking like what you actually serve, since the article reports local customer pushback on AI food pictures.
Copy-paste prompt
Here is a real photo of {ITEM} from {BUSINESS NAME}. Make a {SQUARE / STORY} social media flyer for {OFFER} on {DATES} at {PRICE}. Keep the food exactly as it looks in my photo: don't change its shape, color, size or toppings, and don't add food that isn't there. Text on the flyer, spelled exactly: "{BUSINESS NAME}", "{OFFER}", "{DATES}", "{ADDRESS}". Use no other text. Then write a 2-sentence caption in a warm, family-run voice.One short email a day: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each with its source and setup steps, plus a Tool of the Day. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Tools used
ChatGPT
General AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and analysis.
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Checked prices: ChatGPT: from Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (verified 2026-10-20)
Rather not do it yourself?
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